Iran names squad for World Cup qualifiers against Qatar, China

Carlos Queiroz has named his 19-man Iran squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament with Qatar and China in Group A.

Team Melli will play Qatar on March 23 in Doha and host China five days later in Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

Team Melli has been drawn along with South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar and Syria in Group A of the third round of the competition.

Asian powerhouse Japan has been pitted against Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Thailand in Group B.

The winner and runner-up of each group (four teams in total) will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while the third-placed teams of each group (two teams in total) will head to the play-off round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The winner of the Asian play-off round will then face twice the fourth-placed squad in the fifth round of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying games.